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This Week On The Farm – 1 August 2018

It is already August 1st. My logical side of the brain tells me that that the heat will be with us for two more long months (sigh). My other side of the brain – my wishful thinking dreamer side of the brain – tells me that the cool weather of fall is not far off. This morning though when I woke up and stepped outside into the dawn – my favorite time on the farm – I was greeted by a cool 65-degrees. I knew it was fleeting but regardless I enjoyed it. It was a cruel taunt by mother nature, a taunt us Texans know all too well. Regardless, heat or not, the fall CSA and market season is approaching. And here on Angell’s Farmstead & Apiary we are pushing ahead trying get as much done that can be done regardless of the heat.

On our farm, we currently have three large beds for row crops. These are approximately 30-feet by 75-feet. This includes our high-tunnel system that allows us to grow later and sooner.

This picture is of the new plot. I tilled, added compost, organic fertilizer, created rows, covered with weed-fabric and added posts and fencing for trellising of spaghetti squash and acorn squash. Additionally, when my tomato seeds are ready to be transplanted into the plot they will have fencing for trellising as well. Also, new to the farm is the drip irrigation. This allows us to conserve water. One significant benefit is I simply just turn it on and come back. Gone are the days of me standing with a hose watering for hour on end. Winning!

This video clip takes place inside our high-tunnel. Here we are building rows. It’s labor intensive but the hard work is at the beginning of the season. Don’t laugh at the boots. 🙂

This next picture is of our young sweet corn seedlings. I originally planted some corn two weeks ago but the grasshoppers decimated them. Now, I replanted, deployed drip-tape irrigation, and use cover cloth to keep the pests at bay and soften the intensity of the August sun. Let’s hope it works because this is a super-sweet variety and it’s delicious.

Most of what we’ve already planted, in preparation for the fall, are warm weather vegetables that take about 70 days to harvest. We simply can’t plant lettuce in August. It won’t germinate and if it does it will be extremely bitter – no thanks!

If you have any suggestions, just let us know. If anyone wants to come out for a farm tour please contact us.

On the apiary side of the farm, our ladies are busy as…well..bees. We continue to harvest and sell our delicious local raw honey. Check out the video below. Sorry for the quality, I’m still learning about the various ratios and video aspects.